Keys To Selling More Cypress Siding

ftESPITE wood garnering a L/smaller share of the siding market, manufacturers see golden opportunities to sell cypress as a niche product, according to a brief survey by Building Products Digest.

The challenge is increasing cypress' share ofan overall smaller siding market. "Yes," noted Tom Reke, Coastal Lumber Co., Weldon, N.C., "wood (use for siding) is shrinking, with HardiPlank, brick veneer, vinyl, all these competitors. But with the western red cedar issue, the duty, we see this as an opportunity to capture a larger part of the wood siding market."

LaVerne Ard, Marsh Lumber Co., Pamplico, S.C., added, "We find that the sale ofcypress siding is steadily increasing in our market."

"Wood in general is being pushed out of the siding market slowly but surely at an increasing rate," said John Haggerty, Williams Lumber Co. of North Carolina, Rocky Mount, N.C. "However, cypress seems to be holding its own compared to the large decrease in western red cedar being used for siding. This is due to the location of cypress manufacturing as opposed to cedar being for the most part an imported species."

Richard Landry, Richard Landry Lumber Sales, Inc., Alexandria, La., agreed: "It is growing, mainly due to its durability and competitiveness with redwood."

"Our cypress siding sales have grown due to people wanting a natural look on houses in this area," said J.P. "Skip" Doty, A.P. Hubbard Lumber Co.. Greensboro. N.C.

"You are right about wood siding having a smaller market share, but there will always be people who wood, which grows mostly in Canada, is subject to import duties in the U.S. "We tell people to use cypress just as they would use cedar or redwood," says Haggerty. "lt's great for any number of applications, such as fence boards, porch posts and decks. You can't stick it in the ground and you have to protect it from sun and weather, but those precautions are really no different than they would be with any other wood." want wood siding."

Most manufacturers saw increased advertising as the key to cypress' success. "The key to growing or preserving the cypress siding market is to get the word out that it is a very good product through advertisement and word of mouth," said John Stevenson, Thompson Hardwoods, Inc., Hazlehurst, Ga. "Also, producers and sellers of cypress musts make sure contractors know the right way to install this product."

Since, conceded Charles Wilson, Wilson Lumber Co., Inc., Memphis, Tn., fewer and fewer yards will stock cypress siding, the key is "merchandising cypress as a niche item your customer does not have to inventory. But he does have to be able to furnish the siding, trim, cornice, timbers, ceiling, paneling, decking or whatever it takes to complete the job. Due to the logistics and demographics of the supply sources, the potential customer has to be able to purchase everything he will need from one source, whether it is one piece or a truckload, and to be assured it is going to be complete and correct when it arrives. Cost then ceases to be a factor. In our

Show It to Sell It

So what's the best way to increase your cypress sales? The key, says Shipley, is simply to show it off.

"When lumber retailers ask us about selling cypress, we tell them the best thing to do is to get their hands on some cypress mouldings or paneling, and display them next to the other woods they sell. Once you do that," he says, "cypress sells itself."

Rogalski agrees: "Show cypress as present merchandising system, the customer is looking for a complete package with no headaches, and is willing to pay for the certainty that is what he will receive," a finished product. Ask your distributors for cypress paneling, cypress cabinets and cypress doors and then just put them on display out on the sales floor. That's really all there is to it."

According to Williams Lumber's Haggerty, "Quality is the most important factor in preserving or growing cypress' share of the wood siding market. Overstated warranties by the alternative siding manufacturers have been the main incentive that has hurt the entire wood siding industry the most. Neither vinyl siding nor fiber cement siding will last 50 years nor will they look decent without being painted and repaired time and again."

As for the future, producers predicted a wide range of possibilities for cypress siding; some see sales increasing, some decreasing, and others see it remaining steady.

Thompson's Stevenson said, at least in the short term, "the cypress business will pick up if the cedar products continue to have tariffs. This should cause people to look for an altemative to cedar and cypress is certainly that. I think cypress is a much better product, anyway-I am a little biased."

Coastal's Reke anticipates "peaks and valleys. If the exterior wood market continues to shrink, you'll see more and more going inside. It's the same ebb and flow it's been for years. What will happen is someone will come along who, say, helps prime the product better. Cypress will gain market share. Or competitors will price themselves out, and we'll make it back. There are areas that still prefer wood siding and some, such as resort areas, that demand it, where wood siding is your only choice."

Haggerty echoes those sentiments, then suggests another tact. "In these patriotic times, it doesn't hurt to let people know where cypress comes from," he says. "Cypress is truly an all-American wood."